Wednesday, 10 September 2014

Candida glabrata

A
group of researchers at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories has created one of the
three world's largest gene libraries for the Candida glabrata yeast, which is harmful to humans. Molecular
analysis of the Candida glabrata
fungus mutations led to the discovery of 28 new genes that are partly
responsible for the yeast's tolerance of common drugs.

The
working group led by Karl Kuchler at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) - a
research and training centre run jointly between the University of Vienna and
the Medical University of Vienna at the Vienna Biocenter Campus - coordinated
an international study cooperation aimed at researching new tolerance and
virulence genes in Candida glabrata.
During this process, genetic methods were used to generate one of the three
world's largest libraries of "knock-out fungi". More than 600 fungus
mutations were created from which a single gene was specifically removed.

The
findings represent a new step in the discovery and characterisation of Candida glabrata resistance genes,
laying the foundations for the development of new anti-fungal medications.